


Burn it all Down

by Taybay14



Series: Saving people, writing prompts [6]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Firefighter Dean, Fluff, mentions of abuse, pyromaniac castiel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-21
Updated: 2016-05-21
Packaged: 2018-06-09 20:15:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6921445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taybay14/pseuds/Taybay14
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I would love a pyromaniac Castiel being caught catching something on fire by firefighter Dean."<br/>-- I actually ended up falling in love with this storyline... I might see a multi-chapter in my future.... dun dun dun</p><p> </p><p>Here's another prompt! I'm literally drowning in them but I'm starting to make my way through. Hopefully you all enjoy (:<br/>-- I couldn't track you back down for some reason, but thank you to zaryac for the prompt.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Burn it all Down

It was his third fire of the week. The flames licked up the sides of the abandoned house as he sat back and lit a cigarette. He was pretty sure this was becoming better than oxygen. It was downright beautiful. He inhaled the air around him and smiled. 

The sirens came into earshot just as he finished his cigarette. He rubbed it out against the sidewalk before stuffing the bud in his pocket. He knew better than to leave something with his DNA on it. 

He settled back into the tree line, wanting to watch for a bit. The firefighters spilled out of the first truck, shouting commands at each other. He searched for his favorite, finding him standing on the curb staring up at the house. ‘WINCHESTER’ was sprawled across his back. He looked away from the house and yelled something to one of the firefighters standing off to the side. That’s when Castiel noticed that people from the neighborhood were starting to show up. The guy that ‘WINCHESTER’ yelled at started putting up a bright yellow tape barrier. 

Castiel felt safe enough to step forward now. He blended with the other people and watched the fire. A window on the second floor blew out, glass spraying the front yard, and everyone around him screamed. He smiled. Then he caught ‘WINCHESTER’ looking at him. Castiel immediately wiped the smile from his lips but he didn’t run away. They stared at each other for a few more seconds before the firefighter turned around and walked towards the house. Castiel smiled again.

Being able to watch his work out in the open gave Castiel a new sense of confidence. He went on a new binge after that, and by the end of the month he had racked up over fifteen more structure fires. Always abandoned. Never on a day where wildfire alerts were on high. 

He got to see his favorite firefighter nine more times. He didn’t start the fires because of him, but he definitely stuck around for that reason. It was a risk. He was fairly certain that ‘WINCHESTER’ had seen him a few times lurking in the crowd. In a city as big as Seattle, it was going to look suspicious if he was around too much. The news already announced that the department had declared the fires works of an arsonist. It was only a matter of time. The idea was exciting for him. 

The excitement got the best of him on a warm Tuesday night. He had been watching the house for months. It was too risky. There were no trees surrounding it to hide behind. It was a nice neighborhood, which poised another threat. People could see him. On top of all that, it was not an abandoned house. It’d be his first. But on that Wednesday, Castiel decided to go for it. The family that lived there was gone, like every Wednesday. Church. 

He set a fire two blocks over to keep people busy. If the neighbors were nosy, they’d be willing to walk a bit to see what was going on. Then they’d be out of the way. Same for the firefighters. It was a fool proof plan in his mind, but then again he was riding a high from lighting the first fire and his head wasn’t totally on straight. He didn’t account for how  
reckless he would be. 

That’s probably why he made the mistake. Usually he had a system. Four steps that, if followed correctly, kept him both safe and anonymous. But this house was special, and so he lingered. Step number two complete, kerosene burning his nostrils, and he had to stop to take it in. Had to look at every picture frame. Touch every throw pillow. It was stupid. The front door was wide open, and he could be seen standing in the middle of the living room. That’s how the firefighter saw him. 

“Don’t do it.” His voice was low and cautious. Castiel held the unlit match between his fingers and tensed. He could try and run, but he knew he wasn’t going to make it. He couldn’t. He had to finish now. He had to light the house on fire, even if it meant burning himself. 

“I have to.” He said quietly. He swiped the match against the box and wondered for a moment, do firefighters have guns? He guessed he would find out. 

“Put that out!” The firefighter yelled. Castiel smiled. How could this man think it that simple? Did he really believe this was something Castiel could just walk away from? If he could, he would have months ago. 

Castiel turned around to face the man. His smile grew. It was perfect karma that his favorite would be the one to discover him. He had always hoped. “Winchester.” The firefighter shot up straight, on full alert now. 

“How do you know my name?”

“I watch.” The burning match was starting to burn Castiel’s fingers so he blew it out. The firefighter visibly relaxed. “You knew that though. It’s why you’re walking around instead of at the fire, right? You thought you could catch me watching.”

“Yes.” The firefighter eyes the box of matches. Wonders if he could tackle this kid before he lights another. “Why two in one night? You’ve never done that?”

“That one was a distraction.” Castiel lit another match and the firefighter knew now that he wouldn’t be able to lunge. “This one is the main event.” He had to keep him talking now.  
Had to keep him occupied so that he would blow out this match too. 

“Why? Why do you want to set this one on fire?”

“I’d tell you to look around. See if you can figure it out. But you wouldn’t be able to.” Castiel laughed. It was harsh and angry. The firefighter flinched. 

“Why is this house special?” It worked. The boy blew this match out again. He wanted to hear the answer though. It was a risk, but he didn’t lunge. It was a mistake.

The match made the sound of torn fabric as it ran across the book. Castiel threw it before it could start burning him. Before he could be stopped. It landed on the soaked hardwood floor, just beside the couch. “Because that’s where I took my first steps. There’s a home video of it.” Castiel backed away, towards the stair case. He lit another match and the firefighter knew he should be calling the fire in. Knew it was wrong. But yet he stood and watched. Castiel threw the next one on the third step. The fire licked upwards like it was racing for the top. “That’s where my father threw me down the stairs.”

“We should go.” The firefighter grabbed the neck of the boy’s sweatshirt and pulled him. He went willingly, watching the fire burn as he moved. When they got to the doorway, Castiel yanked himself free. He lit one more match. The firefighter let him. 

“This is where I walked out, exactly four months ago. My eighteenth birthday.” He dropped the match, right on the edge of the door frame, and the firefighter yanked them both back so as not to get burned. They watched from the sidewalk. Then Castiel looked up at him. “You can arrest me if you want. I’ll give you the number to call them. They should know that their house is on fire.” Then he looked away from him, back at the burning house. He smiled. “Tell them their gay son did it.”

The firefighter did none of this. From what he could tell, the boy’s life had been messed up enough by these people. There was no reason to give them the power to make it worse. He grabbed the boy’s hand and pulled him. He brought him two streets over and dumped him in a patch of trees. He told him to stay the fuck there.

Then he went back to the first house and shook his head at his commander. No sign of him. I’m sorry, Sir. He stayed for over an hour. Three other trucks responded to the fire two blocks over but his truck stayed at the first. He extinguished the flames. He shook the commander’s hand. His shift was over. He told the commander he preferred to walk. The station was less than a mile away. Maybe look for the boy some more. It was just after midnight. 

The boy remained, crouched behind the leaves. The firefighter stopped, his hands on his hips, and shook his head. “Where do you live?”

Castiel laughed. “In all the houses I burn down.” The firefighter shook his head. 

“Why?”

“Because I have nothing left.” The firefighter stared down at him for what could have been forever. Then he sighed. 

“Stop burning houses. Stop setting fires.”

“I don’t think I can.”

“I have a spare bedroom. I’m not home too often, I work a lot, but it’s yours if you want it. No rent. But you have to stop.”

“I don’t even know you.” Castiel stood up and wiped his hands on his jeans. The firefighter stepped forward and offered his hand. 

“Dean Winchester.” Then he cocked a smile. “My father’s car was destroyed two weeks after my eighteenth birthday. With a sledgehammer.” He winked. “His gay son did it.” 

Castiel smiled and it was different this time. It wasn’t full of mischief or anger. It was happy. “You have yourself a deal, Winchester.”


End file.
